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Saturday, 30 January 2010

Buckenham Carrs and cars in Buckenham

AFTER Simon Barnes's article in The Times, today had to be the day to see the roosting rooks, crows and jackdaws for myself. The first thing that strikes you isn't the birds, it's the people. The prospect of seeing thousands of corvids dancing across a dusky sky is becoming a mini-tourist attraction. Through Lingwood and Strumpshaw I was just about the only car on the road. But get beyond Buckenham and you are suddenly aware of a lot of parked cars in the middle of nowhere. People with big coats and binoculars hove into view from unlikely angles. It's all terribly British, but a polite sign has gone up warning us to steer clear of parking near houses and advising us to avoid a particular footpath.I won't lay it on about the spectacle itself. So many people have done it better already. But yes birds do fly in from every direction, spectacularly out of the glowing west tonight. And yes this noisy swirling mass of birds waxes and wanes as dozens become hundreds, become thousands. Tonight wasn't a classic according to one lady next to me. It had been better in November. But it's definitely worth going to. Get in before the ice cream vans turn up too,

The Book

The Blog

The blog started as a way of publicising Steve's book on the Wherryman's Way which was published by Halsgrove in 2010. Then it became a way of updating Wherryman's Way walkers. More recently it has spread its wings to the wider Broads. Around 1000 people take a look every month. Steve is now writing a second book provisionally called Riverside Norwich. You can follow his progress on that project here.

The Walk

The Wherryman's Way runs for 35 miles between Norwich and Great Yarmouth, following the route the wherries used to take along the rivers Wensum and Yare. Six years ago I was sitting in the White Horse, Chedgrave wondering why no-one had written a book about it. A few pints later my mates had convinced me I was the man. It was published in May 2010.

Footpath Closures:

Work repairing flood defences means sections of the walk can be closed for months at a time. Get the latest info here.